A December To Remember
by AnitaPlant
Summary: Jane helps Maura pick out a Christmas tree.


She's been called the Grinch before. Hell, she even has a set of antlers to strap onto Jo Friday's head, thanks to her brother's gag gift last year. But this year? Different story completely.

It's entirely the doctor's fault. Maura seems particularly festive this year. And when Maura is festive, her giddy enthusiasm tends to spill over and soak into those around her. The result: even Jane Rizzoli is jovial this year. Her mother has pointed that out to her on numerous occasions already this month, much to her chagrin.

This is precisely why they spend their afternoon trolling around the largest Christmas tree lot in South Boston. It's Jane's idea, buying a real tree this year instead of an artificial one. The doctor quickly agrees, letting Jane pick out the tree, strapping it to the top of the car and setting up the towering Fir tree in Maura's living room. Jane asking her for anything is a rare occurrence. She isn't going to deny her this one request.

Her foot dangles over the side of the couch, absentmindedly swinging to the soft holiday music that has been playing all evening. She feels a tiny smidgen of guilt as she lays sprawled out resting while the doctor works on hanging the ornaments, but Maura insisted she take a break after they got all the lights on the thundering tall tree.

"You sure you don't want any help with those?" She calls out from the couch.

Hazel eyes peek up from a box overflowing with tissue paper, "No, thank you. I'll do this part." She carefully unwraps another frosted glass ball and searches for the perfect spot on the tree for it. "You did all the hard work carrying in the tree and setting it up in the stand." She takes a step back and admires the tree for a moment. "The least I can do is put the decorations on it."

Jane grins at the scene before her.

"Don't think for a second that I don't realize what you're doing," She waves her second mug of mulled spiced wine in the doctor's direction at the perfectly decorated tree. "You don't want me involved so I won't screw up that feng-shui thing you've got going on there with the decorations, Isles."

She likes calling her just by her last name, dropping the formality of the "Dr." when she teases her. It always makes the doctor instantly soften and relax. It makes her appear more attainable.

_Shit_. Jane shakes her head to clear that thought.

That's not why she does it, she tells herself. She does it to make the doctor feel like she belongs, like she has family. It's her way of being the best friend Maura deserves. She knows that is the one thing Maura craves, growing up the way she did; isolated. It's the one thing Jane can give her, unequivocally. Tangible gifts don't mean anything to this woman who can buy anything she desires. But companionship, loyalty and security are things Jane can give her. She knows how to do that, and she refuses to jeopardize that facet of their relationship by asking for anything more.

She owes Maura so much; it's a small price to pay, really. Letting her mother live in the guest house, taking in TJ without a moment's hesitation…the doctor has been a Rizzoli savior.

Maura has been so generous with her time…with her money…and with her cleavage.

_Fuck._

Jane winces and shakes her head again, trying to erase the mental image from her mind.

"Are you okay over there, Jane?" A puzzled, concerned expression creases her brow as she searches Jane's face from across the room.

_Great_, if you don't count the raging case of the incurable 'gay' she's recently developed for her best friend.

"I'm fine." Jane recovers, trying to hide the blush that she feels running up her chest. "I still can't believe you let me talk you into getting a real tree that easily."

Maura adjusts a branch as she fawns over the final decorations.

"Jane, you can talk me into just about anything." The detective catches the slight crinkle of a mischievous smile on the doctor's profile as she gives a last glance over the finished project.

_Dammit_, she makes it so hard sometimes to ignore her obvious attraction.

Jane breathes in the heady, deep cinnamon scent emitting from her warm mug. "Umm..this is really good, Maur. What's in it?" _Ecstasy_, she thinks, based on the reaction her body is having to the doctor tonight.

Maura turns so she is fully facing her and rewards her with one of those full, genuine smiles that warms Jane deep to her core.

"I won't bore you with all the details, but I think it's the touch of aged brandy that makes it special."

She watches as Maura makes her way over to the tree with the new soft skirting that matches perfectly with the garland. She kneels in front of the tree and works to carefully unfold the material. Jane notices how the soft ambient lighting from the tree along with the flickering light coming from the fireplace gives Maura's skin a warm, golden glow. All platonic thoughts leave her mind as soon as the doctor gets on all fours and works to spread the skirting around the base of the tree. Jane's eyes are firmly planted on her ass when the doctor flicks her hair over her shoulder and looks back at Jane.

"How does it look?"

_She means the skirting, not her ass, Rizzoli_. Jane swallows. "Great…real nice."

"It will look better once we put the presents on it."

Jane's eyes close briefly. _It would look much better with you on your back with your hair fanned out all over it._

Instead she manages to squeak out a feeble, "Sure."

Maura sits back on her heels and slowly runs her hands over the material, smoothing it out. Jane watches, mesmerized. It's totally irrational to be jealous of a piece of cloth, but she is.

Jane's raging hormones get a break when Maura pushes herself up off the floor as she heads into the kitchen to refill her own mug. She focuses on the tree and tries to remind herself that her sole purpose here is to fulfill Maura's desire for some semblance of a family tradition.

Those thoughts fly out the door as she watches the doctor emerge from the kitchen, her delicate hands cradling the steaming mug as her hips sashay their way towards the tree. Maura places the mug on the mantle and runs her fingers along one of the soft branches.

"You do realize that I'm going to make you come over here daily to vacuum up all the needles that drop."

Jane was never one for household chores, but she suddenly is looking forward to nightly trips to Maura's house to spend some quality time with her Dyson.

"Sure," she smiles and raises the mug. "Just as long as you keep serving me these, I'll even unload the dishwasher."

Maura moves across the room and slides between the coffee table and the couch, nudging Jane's body over with her hip so she can perch on the edge of the couch cushion next to the prone detective. Her fingers gently slide along Jane's forearm, teasing the skin under her touch.  
"Why do you think I lured you over here tonight?" Her eyes dance along the taller woman's frame stretched out on her couch. "Do you really believe my only motivation was to get you all liquored up so you could lounge on my couch?" Her eyebrows rise provocatively as she waits for Jane to answer.

"I, um...," Jane sits up a little taller on the couch, pushing herself up on to her elbows. The doctor's body is so close she can feel the heat radiating off of it against her skin. "I'm not sure what you want, Maura."

She looks down at the fumbling detective. It's a shame, really. She knows Jane needs this time away from work to decompress, but she really wishes she wouldn't check her 'metaphorical detective hat' at the door when she comes over to her house. For once she wishes Jane would see the signs, read the inherent message in her actions. Use her innate deducing skills, for Christ's sakes.

She hedges before she answers Jane. It would be so easy to close the minute distance between the two women and make her intentions crystal clear. She's gathered enough empirical evidence over the last several months to prove that Jane is attracted to her. What she's unclear of is whether or not Jane is aware of the attraction. Her body is definitely giving off the signals, but Maura is unsure if the detective's stubborn side has let that piece of information filter down through the carefully constructed persona she has created to protect her masterfully hidden vulnerable side.

She's 90% positive Jane is aware of it. But she needs more. She needs to be certain. Maura isn't about to start guessing, especially with something as important as her relationship with Jane.

So she gives Jane one more opportunity.

She stills her fingers on the olive skinned arm, "I need your extraordinary long limbs."

She watches as Jane swallows, her deep brown eyes boring into her own. Her eyes twitch with uncertainty as she tries to decipher Maura's intentions.

Maura sighs.

She motions her head to the one last remaining box by the tree, "I need you to put the star on top of the tree." She shrugs, "You're taller than me."

Jane releases a breath, "Oh…okay." She sets down her mug and follows Maura over to the tree.

Jane pulls one of the wooden chairs from the dining table over to use as a makeshift ladder. Maura rolls her eyes, "I have a ladder, Jane."

Jane smirks, "This is more fun. I like a challenge."

Maura shakes her head at the detective as she hands over the last ornament, "At least let me hold the chair." She watches as Jane stretches to reach the top, leaning precariously over the tree.

Jane lurches forward, feigning losing her balance. It's something the Rizzoli's always do. It always made her mother squeak when she or one of her brothers would do that at home. Maura is no different. She lets out a high-pitched 'Jane!' as one hand quickly flies out to grasp the detective by the thigh to steady her.

Jane leans back and looks down at the doctor's hand. The fingers wrapped around her inner thigh are still firmly in place, and she wonders what she can do to keep them there indefinitely. Maura lets out a breath when she realizes Jane is just fooling with her. She squeezes the thigh under her grip.

She narrows her eyes at Jane, but is unable to hide the smile that starts to form on her lips.

"Don't tease me, detective."

Jane looks down at the hand firmly wrapped around her leg. She cocks her head slightly and wiggles her leg, but not enough to make Maura let go of it, "Don't tease **_me_**, doctor."

They share a smile, and Jane's not sure if she imagines the sultry glint in the smaller woman's eye, or if it's just the Instagram-like lighting of Maura's living room tonight that's giving her that impression.

Maura is now 95% sure Jane is aware of the mutual attraction.

Jane refocuses her attention to the star at the top of the tree. It's being stubborn. It keeps leaning off to one side. She stretches to move the top branch and tries to focus as Maura's hand lightly moves a little lower on her leg.

She releases the star and tries to look at it from her perch on top of the chair, but it's a bad angle. She removes her hand from the tree topper and lets it hover there, waiting to make any final adjustments.

"Am I straight?" Jane's words float down from the top of the tree.

Maura bites her lip as she ponders Jane's poorly worded question. She hedges slightly before answering.

"I hope not entirely." Her eyes are beckoning Jane to understand, trying to convey the desire that has slowly been boiling just beneath the surface for months.

Jane's eyes soften at the double entendre as she turns slowly to look down at the doctor. She's spent so much energy the last few weeks trying to subdue her own feelings. But right now, with Maura's sultry eyes staring back up at her, she can't remember why. She doesn't want to remember why anymore, either.

Jane looks back to the slightly off-kilter star and shrugs.

"Maybe not being straight is okay." She reaches out one finger and pushes the star out of alignment a little bit further.

"How's that look to you, Isles?" she turns around with a slight smirk on her face.

Maura positively beams at her as she offers an outstretched hand to help Jane down off the chair.

"I like it. I like it a lot."

Jane jumps down off the chair, never releasing Maura's hand. Her skin is buzzing, but this time she knows it's not from the spiced wine. She leans in slowly, and when Maura doesn't make a move to stop her, she captures her lips in a whisper of a kiss. She pulls back and looks back down at the doctor.

"This isn't going to get me out of doing the vacuuming, is it?"

Maura lets out a deep, throaty chuckle. "No." Her eyes sparkle back at Jane. "But I can think of a couple of things that might."


End file.
